Rhinophyrna: Dispelling the myths

Rhinophyma is a relatively common condition in the west of Scotland. The Canniesburn Plastic Surgery Unit receives 12 to 13 new patients per year for surgical treatment. The reported incidence of simultaneous carcinoma in the setting of rhinophyma is on the order of 15 to 30 percent. There are conflicting reports about the association between alcohol and rhinophyma in the literature, and these arc supported with little or no statistical evidence. Retrospective epidemiologic data on 45 cases of rhinophyma are presented. An audit of case notes was performed to examine histology and also alcohol consumption in these cases. The authors found no coincidental malignancies at the time of surgery, which is contrary to many previous publications. The alcohol consumption of the rhinophyma cases was compared with that of a control group that consisted of 48 men presenting for blepharoplasty. The series did not demonstrate a positive association between alcohol and rhinophyma when compared with a similar cohort of patients presenting for blepharoplasty surgery (p > 0.20) or with statistics available from the Scottish Health Survey.